|
Operations Research
As defined by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), operations research is the professional discipline that deals with the application of scientific methods to decision-making, especially to the allocation of human and material resources. Operations researchers aim to provide defendable basis for decision-making; they seek to understand and structure complex situations and to use this understanding to predict system behavior and improve system performance.
Much of this work involves analytical and numerical techniques such as experimental design, advanced statistical analysis, regression analysis, multi-attribute decision analysis, and linear / non-linear programming to develop and manipulate mathematical and computer models of organizational systems composed of people, machines, and procedures. Operations research draws upon ideas from engineering, management, mathematics, and psychology and requires a combination of skills and experience in the fields of applied mathematics, computer science, economics, industrial engineering, and systems engineering.
Example focus areas of operation research studies include the following:
- System Architecture Design & Analysis. Study and analysis of design alternatives driven by the system's requirements. Emphasis is on documenting required data flows and information exchange followed by analysis of ability of design alternatives to efficiently meet the documented and undocumented requirements. Architectures are typically documented using the DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF) or similar.
- Process Modeling & Analysis. Study and analysis of the sequencing and execution of process steps within an overall task. Emphasis is on understanding the value-added nature of each process step and designing a process flow that is most efficient, offers the highest reliability, and is the most cost-effective method for operating and managing the task. Traditionally focused on hardware manufacturing tasks, process analysis has evolved to address today’s technology driven environment including systems/software engineering processes, modifying business processes to incorporate the latest technology, and ensuring critical information is available in a timely manner for key decision makers.
- Cost Modeling & Analysis. Study and analysis of cost of development, operational cost, and total ownership cost for human and material systems. Emphasis is on understanding long-term budgeting needs and cost/benefit analysis of technological upgrades.
|
Showcase Projects
|
